Author: Tom Killebrew
Publisher: University of North Texas Press
ISBN: 1574416154
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 460
Get Book Here
Book Description
By early 1941, the war raged in Europe and Great Britain stood alone against the aerial might of Nazi Germany. Although much of the Royal Air Force's pilot training program had been relocated to Canada and other Dominion countries, the need for pilots remained acute. The British looked to the United States for possible assistance. Passage of the Lend-Lease Act in March 1941 allowed for the training of British pilots in the United States and the formation of British Flying Training Schools. These unique schools were owned by American operators, staffed with American civilian instructors, supervised by British Royal Air Force officers, utilized aircraft supplied by the U.S. Army Air Corps, and used the RAF training syllabus. Within these pages, Tom Killebrew provides the first comprehensive history of all seven British Flying Training Schools located in Terrell, Texas; Lancaster, California; Miami, Oklahoma; Mesa, Arizona; Clewiston, Florida; Ponca City, Oklahoma; and Sweetwater, Texas. The first British students arrived in a still-neutral United States in June 1941. Many had never been in an airplane (or even driven an automobile), but they mastered the elements of flight, attended ground school classes, were introduced to the mysteries of the Link trainer and instrument flight, and then ventured out on cross country exercises. Students began night flying with the natural apprehension associated with taking off into a black sky, aided by only a few instruments, a flickering flare path, and limited ground references. Some students failed the periodic check flights and had to be eliminated from training, while others were killed during mishaps and are buried in local cemeteries. Those who finished the course became Royal Air Force pilots. But the story of the British Flying Training Schools is more than the story of young men learning to fly. These young British students would also forge a strong and long-lasting bond of friendship with the Americans they came to know. This bond would last not only during training, but would continue throughout the war, and still exist long after the end of the war.
Author: Tom Killebrew
Publisher: University of North Texas Press
ISBN: 1574411691
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 209
Get Book Here
Book Description
With the outbreak of World War II, British RAF officials sought to train aircrews outside of England, safe from enemy attack and poor weather. In the USA, six civilian flight schools dedicated themselves to instructing RAF pilots. Tom Killebrew explores the history of the Terrell Aviation School.
Author: Robert Kane
Publisher: NewSouth Books
ISBN: 1603063706
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 152
Get Book Here
Book Description
During World War II, the US Army Air Forces (AAF) trained over 21,000 aircrew members from 29 Allied countries. The two largest programs, 79 percent of those trained, were for Britain and France. The Royal Air Force (RAF), fully engaged against the German Air Force by December 1940, was not able to train new aircrews. The British government asked the United States to train new pilots until it could get its own flight training program underway. Lieutenant General Henry "Hap" Arnold, chief of the Army Air Corps, authorized the training of RAF pilots at select airfields in the southeast United States, including at Maxwell and Gunter fields near Montgomery, Alabama. Between June 1941 and February 1943, when the RAF terminated what became known as the Arnold Plan, 4,300 of more than 7,800 RAF cadets sent to the United States completed the three-phase AAF flight training program. Within three months, some of the same schools, including the phase 2 school at Gunter Field, began training Free French Air Force flight cadets. By November 1945, when the US government terminated the French training program, 2,100 French flight cadets out of the 4,100 who came to the United States had received their wings. This book tells for the first time the story of the RAF and Free French flight training programs in central Alabama, covering the origins, the issues, and the problems that occurred during the training programs, and the results and lessons learned.
Author: Great Britain. Air Ministry
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 110
Get Book Here
Book Description
Author: David Gledhill
Publisher: Fonthill Media
ISBN:
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 401
Get Book Here
Book Description
Flying the McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom was a young man's dream but the path from "Civvy Street" to operational on a fighter squadron was long, arduous and beset with obstacles. To succeed meant the chance to fly one of the most iconic combat aircraft that ever took to the air but not every fledgling aviator who began the journey fulfilled their ambition to wear the coveted "Op. badge". "Per Ardua--Training an RAF Phantom Crew" describes how Cold War aircrew assimilated the skills needed to fly and fight the complex fighter jet. It follows the progress through every stage and explains why it cost millions to train each pilot and navigator. Philip Keeble and David Gledhill, both former Phantom aircrew, recount the challenges and the emotions encountered during the rigorous training process in a frank yet light hearted way that will leave you wondering how anyone achieved the goal.
Author: Great Britain. Royal Air Force
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages :
Get Book Here
Book Description
Author: A. M. De Quesada
Publisher: Arcadia Publishing
ISBN: 9780738568904
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 132
Get Book Here
Book Description
Before they defended Britain against Hitleras Blitzkrieg, many Royal Air Force pilots were sent across the ocean to sunny Florida to receive pilot training. Far from the wartime destruction of their homeland, these brave pilots, some of whom would never return due to accidents that would take their lives, received valuable training from the military as well as a warm welcome from the citizens of Florida.
Author:
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages :
Get Book Here
Book Description
Author: Great Britain. Air Ministry
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Aeronautics
Languages : en
Pages : 0
Get Book Here
Book Description
Author: Ray Sturtivant
Publisher:
ISBN: 9780851302522
Category : Flight training
Languages : en
Pages : 368
Get Book Here
Book Description
